This invention is in the field of mobile commerce transactions and particularly the utilization of computerized engines to facilitate third party participation in mobile commerce transactions.
Single purpose computerized end devices, i.e., cell phones, pagers, personal digital assistants, etc., have become commonplace. These single purpose devices have not, in the past, included application hosting facilities given the network and processors that were available. Any intelligence had to be found in the “hosts” that they were attached to.
Four key trends are shaping the computerized consumer transaction industry: increased processing power on user devices; longer lasting batteries for user devices; standardization of the development and operating environment on user devices (standard operating systems); and finally, the demand and growth of applications executing on user devices.
As technology advances, so must the availability of consumer transaction applications on user devices. Customer care and billing applications (including pre-paid applications) have generally followed a network-centric or server-centric processing model. Network-centric models process and store information centrally on the network. The device or access point generates/facilitates the data or events. Customer data is housed on centralized databases. Rating and pricing for events involves some sort of network activity or usage.
Recent inventions have facilitated movement of some or all of the processing functionality to the end device (please see, U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2003-0187794, entitled System and Method for a Flexible Device-Based Rating Engine, Irwin et al, filed on Mar. 20, 2003). In these systems, a computerized engine, specifically, a device-based rating engine, may be incorporated into virtually any end device. The device-based rating engine may include a computerized application, which facilitates the intelligent configuration of computerized metering, rating, billing and managing of account balances on an end computing device. The device-based rating engine may then interact with a back-end system through a network on an as-needed basis to communicate the processing results.
User devices may also represent a natural integration point for a wide variety of consumer transactions applications ranging from voice, to data, to content, to next generation services such as mobile infotainment (i.e., information and entertainment). The power, convenience and ubiquity of these smart devices may drive the rapid adoption of new services, and in the process, create enormous value for consumers.
Most consumer transactions are still processed via paper. Typically, a consumer transaction occurs directly between the vendor and the consumer with cash or a financial settlement mechanism, such as a credit card. This usually occurs directly on the vendor's premises with the vendor's financial instruments. In the standard transaction model, the consumer receives a separate bill for each individual financial settlement mechanism (i.e., each credit card, checking account, etc.). If the customer wishes to verify the billing charges itemized on each statement, then the customer must maintain a copy of the sales receipt for each transaction. Furthermore, if the customer wishes to return a good or service, then the customer must sort through his or her receipts to find the receipt for the specific transaction.
Mobile commerce transactions may occur on a mobile carriers' network infrastructure and may not require use of the vendor's financial instruments. Nevertheless, consumers still receive separate bills for each individual financial settlement mechanism and may still be forced to retain copies of receipts (paper or electronic). Additionally, the network providers usually do not actively participate in mobile commerce transactions, but rather merely facilitate the transaction by serving as a network pipe though which opaque data may travel. For this reason, the reality for network infrastructure providers, such as wireless carriers as well as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), is that they are cut out of the value chain during financial transactions that do not directly involve either the carrier-managed balance or the carrier's transmission network. Moreover, they are essentially providing a mobile commerce platform for which others will benefit.